BIG WEEKEND!

It was hard to believe that the time had gone so fast since my son and his girlfriend had announced their engagement 15 months ago. But here we are--wedding weekend! This week was all about last minute preparations and wrapping up all the details we've been planning for the past year! The runs and the workouts continued uninterrupted, though. I would never have gotten through this weekend without them!

Weekly Rundown:

Sunday: trail run 7.25 miles

Monday: strength training

Tuesday: Yoga with Adriene

Wednesday: trail run 7.5 miles

Thursday: strength training

Friday: trail run 7 miles

Saturday: WEDDING DAY

I didn't share it in last week's rundown, but work was hellacious last week. That, combined with the upcoming wedding and dealing with my parents, had me stressing! However, I slept for almost 9 hours on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, I decided to skip my Trail Sisters run and take a solo tour around the forest preserve. I needed to shut out the world for a while. 

Best decision ever. The sun was shining overhead, and the cool temperatures felt wonderful. I felt stronger than I have in a long time. When I finished, I felt so much better, mentally. Mission accomplished. Isn't it amazing that a run can do that?

Monday's strength sesh had us working on power cleans! These are one of my favorite lifts. We broke it down and then did 4 sets of 3, building as we went. I finished with a set of 90#, which ties my 1 rep max! I was thrilled. After the strength work, we did accessory work: 5 x8 barbell box step-ups and 5 x:30 bear crawl plank. 

Even though I had the day off on Wednesday, I was on the trail by 7 am. It's peaceful at that time of the morning, plus I was hoping to see some deer! I did see a buck, but he didn't let me get too close, and I also saw a doe with her fawn, again, keeping a distance from me. It's odd how they are friendlier at certain times of the year. Anyhoo, this was another strong run, and I spent quite a bit of it on the single track. I'm enjoying this seasonally cool weather!

For Thursday's strength class, we worked on shoulder presses (strict press). It's been a while since we've done those with the barbell, but in our auxiliary strength workouts, we did them with dumbbells. We partnered with another classmate,  and I started at 50# x 3, then did 3 more sets at 55#, 60#, and failed at 65#. That's the thing with upper body work--a small increment can make a huge difference. But it was still a PR for me! We finished the class with accessory work: 5 sets each of 8 ring rows and 8 dumbbell RDLs (20# each hand). I could have gone heavier.

Feeling a little off when I woke up Friday, I took my feet to the trails instead of the bike path. Since I had the day off for the rehearsal dinner and other assorted wedding duties, I had more time in the morning than I normally do. It was foggy when I headed out and I wanted to get some interesting photos with the fog. The deer continue to be skitish--I got a few snorts and hoof stomps when I tried to take photos. I don't know what's up with them, lol. Don't they know I want a picture?

Anyhoo, I took a different route around the preserve than I did on Wednesday. saw a few new patches of mushrooms and literally ran into a former BRC teammate. He's getting ready for the Chicago Marathon, and his goal finish time is 2:37. He's in a whole different league than me! But he's such a nice guy, and we stopped for a few minutes to briefly catch up. 

Off the road...

I worked on Tuesday, but took the rest of the week off. It was a smart thing to do because on Tuesday, I felt so distracted! But as the week went on, things started to fall into place. I'm glad I'm the mother of the groom and not the bride--I can't imagine all the planning and details for that role. I'm sure Deborah is handling her daughter's wedding planning beautifully. 

On Wednesday afternoon, my future DIL and I got our nails done. I was worried about mine because I had 2 broken nails, but my favorite nail technician did a great job, and I avoided the need to get nail tips. I'm trying not to go down that road. Aren't Elisa's nails gorgeous? My hands look so old, lol.

Friday was the rehearsal and dinner. The entire wedding party and some of the bride's family met at the venue for walk-through of the ceremony. This was followed by a celebratory dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. It was fun and relaxed! I was in bed by 10, but tossed and turned most of the night. 

Wedding Day Saturday started out very early with hair and makeup; lots of prewedding prep and photos. The wedding was beautiful, and it was fun! My youngest son was the best man. He and I (as the mother of the groom) gave speeches. I thought I'd be nervous, but it went really well. The bride and groom were so happy. It was just a wonderful day. I have just a few photos I took last night--I'll share more as they come to me!

I'm happily exhausted and looking forward to hearing all the recaps of everyone's night. We took so many photos--I can't wait to see them all! 

How was your weekend? Did you have any big events this weekend? Any races? We're off to the Cubs game with Holly and her hubs, who drove up from 'Bama for the wedding!

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.